[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 99 (Thursday, May 22, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29436-29437]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-11861]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP07-52-000; Docket Nos. CP07-53-000; CP07-53-001]
Downeast LNG, Inc., Downeast Pipeline, LLC; Notice of
Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the
Proposed Downeast LNG Project
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) has prepared a final environmental impact statement (EIS)
for the Downeast LNG Project, proposed by Downeast LNG, Inc. and
Downeast Pipeline, LLC (collectively Downeast) in the above-referenced
dockets. Downeast requests authorization to construct and operate a
proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, natural gas
sendout pipeline, and associated facilities in Washington County,
Maine. The Downeast LNG Project would provide about 500 million cubic
feet per day of imported natural gas to the New England region.
The final EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of the
construction and operation of the Downeast LNG Project in accordance
with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
The FERC staff concludes that approval of the proposed project, with
the mitigation measures recommended in the EIS, would ensure that most
impacts in the project area would be avoided or reduced to less than
significant levels. Construction and operation of the project would
primarily result in temporary and short-term environmental impacts;
however, some long-term and permanent environmental impacts would
occur.
The U.S. Coast Guard; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries
Service; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. Department of
Transportation; and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection
participated as cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EIS.
Cooperating agencies have jurisdiction by law or special expertise with
respect to resources potentially affected by the proposal and
participate in the NEPA analysis. Although the cooperating
[[Page 29437]]
agencies provided input to the conclusions and recommendations
presented in the EIS, the agencies will present their own conclusions
and recommendations in their respective Records of Decision or other
determinations for the project.
The final EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the
construction and operation of the following project facilities:
A new marine terminal that would include a 3,862-foot-long
pier with a single berth and vessel mooring system, intended to handle
LNG vessels ranging from 70,000 to 165,000 cubic meters in capacity,
with future expansion capabilities to handle vessels with 220,000 cubic
meters of cargo capacity;
two full-containment LNG storage tanks, each with a
nominal usable storage capacity of 160,000 cubic meters;
LNG vaporization and processing equipment;
piping, ancillary buildings, safety systems, and other
support facilities;
three vapor fences around the LNG terminal;
a 29.8-mile-long, 30-inch-diameter underground natural gas
pipeline;
natural gas metering facilities located at the LNG
terminal site; and
various ancillary facilities including pigging \1\
facilities and three mainline block valves.
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\1\ A ``pig'' is a tool for cleaning and inspecting the inside
of a pipeline.
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The FERC staff mailed copies of the EIS to Federal, state, and
local government representatives and agencies; elected officials;
environmental and public interest groups; Native American tribes;
potentially affected landowners and other interested individuals and
groups; newspapers and libraries in the project area; and parties to
this proceeding.
Everyone on our environmental mailing list will receive a CD
version of the final EIS. Paper copy versions of the EIS were mailed to
those specifically requesting them. Only volume 1 of the final EIS,
containing text of the analysis, was printed in hard copy. Volume 2,
containing additional appendices, was produced as .pdf files on a CD.
Responses to comments received on the draft EIS and Supplemental draft
EIS are included in Appendix S and T, respectively. In addition, the
EIS is available for public viewing on the FERC's Web site
(www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. A limited number of copies are
available for distribution and public inspection at: Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, Public Reference Room, 888 First Street NE.,
Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8371.
Additional information about the project is available from the
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (866) 208-FERC, or on the
FERC Web site (www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. Click on the
eLibrary link, click on ``General Search,'' and enter the docket number
excluding the last three digits in the Docket Number field (i.e., CP07-
52 or CP07-53). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range.
For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at
[email protected] or toll free at (866) 208-3676; for TTY,
contact (202) 502-8659. The eLibrary link also provides access to the
texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders,
notices, and rulemakings.
In addition, the Commission offers a free service called
eSubscription which allows you to keep track of all formal issuances
and submittals in specific dockets. This can reduce the amount of time
you spend researching proceedings by automatically providing you with
notification of these filings, document summaries, and direct links to
the documents. Go to www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp.
Dated: May 15, 2014.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-11861 Filed 5-21-14; 8:45 am]
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